North Fork of the Blackwater (V+) (WV) Headcam + Freestyle Footy

Adam gyrating in Hungry Mother, Upper Gauley, WV.

Watch the full video embedded below or click HERE.

Anyone who paddles in WV knows that the Blackwater River in the northern central part of the state is of the same caliber of North Carolina's Green River Narrows (but, of course, better in every way ;-). The Blackwater is a naturally fed stream that has three different sections: the "North Fork" (V+), the "Upper" (IV-V+), and the "Lower" (IV-V).

Jake Greenbaum admires Douglas Falls, North Fork of the Blackwater, WV.

Out of these three sections, the Upper Blackwater, averaging 233 fpm, runs the most frequently and is paddleable at a wide range of levels (some people run it real high, it just depends on how crazy you are). The Lower is less frequented because you have to either run the Upper into the Lower, or hike in and down a steep 400 vertical foot mountain (see map below). The Upper and lower offer extremely challenging boulder drop rapids with a few slides and larger drops. Both the Lower and the Upper will challenge any paddler when they descend the canyon, no matter their skill level.

Blackwater Area Map. Note the sections. When the Upper and North Fork meet, the remaining stretch is called the "Lower" Blackwater.

The North Fork, on the other hand, is a completely different stream. Instead of boulder drops and hard, tight, technical moves, the North Fork, which has a max gradient of almost 400 fpm, offers steep vertical drops consistently. The big drop, called Glutial Mash, is a picturesque 30' drop that you have to either boof or enter at a maximum of a 45 degree angle to avoid pitoning potential.

Some of the best things about the North Fork is that you can run it multiple times in a day (provided that you have the corn to power up the 400' vert hill and 1.5 miles of rail trail each time), it runs fairly frequently, and, essentially, is a park and huck (due to all the hiking).

Needless to say, the Blackwater is a powerful river that should not be taken lightly. Experienced teams only. In the words of LVM, "If you don't have the skillz to pay the billz..." please admire from a distance...


OR from this video!

If you are having trouble viewing this video, click HERE.

The video is from the North Fork of the Blackwater with some headcamera footage (WV, V+) and some freestyle on the Upper Gauley. Enjoy!

Also, if you would like to see the entire North Fork of the Blackwater headcam footage, click HERE.

Happy holidays and see you on the water,

-Adam Johnson
WhitewaterFreestyle

North East Update

In the past couple months myself and Paul Twist have been traveling all over the Northeast hitting a couple of the classics. Beaver fest is like Mecca for paddlers in the Northeast, they travel from near and far to hit the one day release of the Moisher section of the Beaver River. After the Moisher and Eagle sections of the Beaver, Paul Twist and I met up with some of our favorite local paddlers, Michael H. Laflair IV and Uncle Jim "Hot Rod" Dobbins to paddle the Stone Valley Section of the Raquette. Here is the video.

Beaver and Raquette Video

beaver

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After the Beaver, it was time for Moose Fest. The Bottom section of the Moose is a classic Adirondack pool drop run with great drops. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and taking the hit at the bottom of Fowlersville Falls, a 40' slide. The Moose also includes Gorilla's sister, Magilla. Magilla is a huge ugly drop that just makes you cringe when you look at it. This year Michael H. Laflair IV was man enough to fire up this drop. Here is the video, which is a great peice of editing by Paul Twist.

Moose Fest 2007

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Be sure to look for our next post on Medina Falls, a perfect 40' vertical drop in Western New York.
Signing off for Team Riot Danny Doran and Paul Twist

Finishing February: We Have Water

Moats Falls on the Arden Section of the Tygart at around 14 grand.

February has been a cold son-of-a-wench here in WV. That said, I can only imagine what it has been like for places more northern than this (my guess: brutal). Most of February is fairly "locked up" around here. The rivers freeze over, the water leaves and everything gets white. Alas, the snow people have their time.

Fortunately enough though, the past few days here have let up, bringing warmer temperatures and some rain. I had the opportunity to paddle the Tygart River the highest I have ever been on it (I think the gauge read something like 12'/~14,000cfs and rising) and I had the opportunity to run the Upper Blackwater once more the day after.

This is a dam on the Buckhannon River, right out my back door. Notice the massive chunk of ice on the left, and not to mention the 4' tall death boil backing up the hole.

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The above picture is the creek at the takeout for the Upper Blackwater near the parking lot. The gauge was off the day we rain it (reading 580cfs, when it was actually 320cfs). The river was a blast. Getting down to the putin proved to be somewhat challenging. One has to hike down into the Canyon on a semi-steep trail. Fortunately for us, the snow on the trail had built up over the winter causing some of the deeper spots to be waist high with snow.

The run was very nice . Since it had been low, then the big flux of water came through, causing whatever ice there was to blow out and disappear. The Upper Blackwater is roughly three miles long and allegedly has many of the same characteristics of Mans Creek (WV). Pure, continuous, steep, and sivved out! Lots of boofs, frigid cold water to the face, and unpredictable rapids made for an interesting run.

Another view of the Buckhannon dam at high water. I saw a tire, plastic soda bottle, and a basket ball recirculate in there for the entire time I was there. Not a good place to be.

The best part was the takeout. For the Upper Blackwater (as well as the North Fork) one has to hike up and out of the canyon for a little less than a mile, then hike back to the car via an old rail trail, roughly two miles. On this day, everything was coated in snow (sounds fun, right?). So, we ended up finding the "trail" up the hill, proceeding carefully with the snow afoot, while trying not to fall of the side of the mountain.

The rail trail happened to have about one and a half feet of snow on it, so we ended up following each others' footsteps and trying not to break through the lower ice crust. This hike is through an area that has come into question with local logging companies. Go to Save The Blackwater to find out more information and take action to save this beautiful wilderness (take action HERE , takes less than 1 minute). The Blackwater Canyon is a beautiful place and it would be awful to see it logged.

This is a sign on the side of the river from a landowner on the Arden section of the Tygart. Some of the landowners around that area are quite sensitive about trespassing (and parking!), so be careful if you head out that way.

A gargantuan hole at Undercut rapid on the Tygart at high water. Yehaw, the West Virginia HEEHAWWW!

That's it for this post. Spring is coming, hooray. Soon enough most of us will be able to get out and paddle.

See you on the river,









-Adam Johnson
Whitewater Freestyle